Greg Bishansky writes...

I originally wrote this for my blog, and decided to paste it in here.

Young Justice

Well, what do you know? This is my one hundredth entry. Appropriate that it is about Greg Weisman's newest TV series.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge fan of Greg Weisman's work. "Gargoyles" is my all time favorite TV series; I adored "The Spectacular Spider-Man;" I was quite fond of the second season of "W.I.T.C.H.;" and the freelance scripts he wrote for shows like "Men In Black" and "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" were always fun.

Okay, I really hated "Max Steel" and couldn't watch more than one episode, but that show had all sorts of behind the scenes problems that were not his fault. And sadly, "Roughnecks: Star Ship Troopers Chronicles" never aired in my area, so I've never really seen it. But, overall, Greg Weisman is responsible for high quality television. So, I was greatly anticipating his newest series, "Young Justice."

"Young Justice" is loosely based on a DC Comics title by the same name, but draws from many other sources. It focuses on a group of sidekicks (but don't call them that) who band together to become a covert ops team connected to the Justice League. The stars of the show are Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian, and Artemis. Although, we have yet to meet Artemis and only briefly met Miss Martian.

The theme of the first season is "secrets and lies" and this is very apparent within the pilot already. The Justice League is keeping secrets from the members of Young Justice... which was enough to piss off Speedy, and get him to storm off. And Project Cadmus was keeping secrets from the rest of the world.

I love a good mystery, and we've got one set up with a shadowy organization called The Light, who were behind Project Cadmus. Although, I am somewhat reminded of the Illuminati from "Gargoyles" (Hmm... Light - illuminated - Illuminati) and the Council of Thirteen of the Guild of Calamitous Intent in "The Venture Bros." although, I highly doubt Davie Bowie is L-1.

The writing and dialogue are very sharp, and considering the pilot was penned by Mr. Weisman himself, that was to be expected. The animation is very strong, and I kept wondering what their budget was, because it looks great. The voice acting was also phenomenal, which is to be expected from any series voice directed by Jamie Thomason.

This series has just about everything going for it, and already, in my mind, blew the competition out of the water. Yes, I enjoy "The Avengers - Earth's Mightiest Heroes" quite a bit, but the quality of that show just doesn't compare to the quality of "Young Justice." The funny thing about that is that outside of Batman, and some Vertigo comics, I have no attachment to DC Comics at all. I've always been a Marvel reader. But Marvel has never had animated series as good as DC's, with the exception of "The Spectacular Spider-Man" which was just as great as "Batman the Animated Series." But then, look at who the mastermind behind Spidey was.

I give the pilot of "Young Justice" a solid five stars. It also left me intrigued enough to come back for more when the series really gets going in January.

Anonymous writes...

If there was enough related media, and tie-in's what would you like the universe your creating to be called?

Anonymous writes...

Hey Greg,
I was wondering did Blockbuster die in the end or was he imprisoned? And did Ms. Martian change the color of her shirt to match Superboys? How would you describe Superman's reaction to Superboy? When they're first walking into the Hall Of Justice Kid Flash says "Have all 4 sidekicks ever been in the same place at once" or something along those lines does that mean that there are only 4 sidekicks on Earth-16 currently? (which doesnt mean there arent other teen superheroes they'd just be solo right)

Jack-Pumpkinhead writes...

Hey Greg, congratulations on Young Justice! I watched the two-hour premiere and I was thoroughly impressed. I liked the way you handled the characters and the world. I mean, getting Blockbuster in like that? Very nicely done. You put together a very formidable JLA there, and I liked ... oh hell, I loved everything! Please give my kudos to the animators and voice actor if possible (Jesse McCartney was awesome as Robin). My only two questions on the show come from having a poor quality tape to record it on;
1-Did they say Aqualad's first name in the show? Cause if they did, I missed it.
2- Was That Cripsin Freeman voicing Speedy? I know he was Guardian, but I didn't know about Roy.

Again, awesome job, and the series premiere cant start soon enough!

Anonymous writes...

Will you make a Dark Ages comic books spin off??? I would like to know more about the lives of the Gargoyle characters. And by the way, I watched young justice and I enjoyed it! I can't wait till the series comes out in January!

Anonymous writes...

That premiere was amazing!! One question though one that Im not even sure your allowed to anwser. When Blockbuster tells the scientist to clone Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad, Robin replies bys saying "Pass Batcaves Crowded Enough" can you elaborate on what he meant by this? Is their a Batgirl or Batwoman running around Gotham in this universe or maybe Bathound?

Anonymous writes...

Greeat Premiere, and though I know you cant tell me if they'll appear on the show I was wondering if Static Shock and and the new Blue Beetle currently exist in the Earth-16 universe? Even if they'll never show up I just want to know if they're floating around somewhere out there doing their thing.

Henry writes...

I saw the Young Justice pilot, and I LOVEEED it. I mean amazing I loved the whelmed running joke, and when Kid Flash was like "We're in to deep...literally." I loled. Well to my question though this wasnt something that came up in the pilot I was wondering if the Young Justice Team was going to be going up against a lot of teen villans? That happened a lot in Teen Titans, and it wasnt really something that made a lot of sense to me. Oh and this one is completely hypothetical lets that Young Justice turned out to be the most successful Cartoon Network show EVER like of ALL TIME would there be a possibility of spin-off shows maybe like a new DCAU? Or maybe some direct to video movies that take place on Earth 16, but dont necessarily involve the Young Justice Team?

SoundForSound writes...

Any reason for Disney to not just do a digital only release of Gargoyles via iTunes? Would not that be cheaper to release than DVD, or who knows? Any word on if YJ will be available on iTunes? Keep up the great work. Spidey was amazing, so am looking forward to YJ.

Anonymous writes...

Would it make any differences if you didn't used a Futurama voice actor to voice Aquaman in Young Justice?

Pumpkin Bomb writes...

Hi Greg,

Absolutely loved the premiere of Young Justice! Dragged along a friend to see it, and now she can't wait for the rest either. As I saw a Tivo'd version at a relative's house, it's possible I might have accidentally missed it, but I didn't notice a TV theme opening with music or credits for the first two episodes. Is this because it is the pilot and you're saving the opening theme for the rest of the episodes? Or because it was cut as a TV movie? Can you confirm if we going to get an opening themesong, or sequence at all?

If so, can't wait to see it.

Masterdramon writes...

Hey Greg! So I managed to catch "Independence Day," and...

Well, to be honest, it was so incredibly awesome that it may have melted my brain a little bit. XD

So, now to jump into my comments...

- Mr. Freeze, Icicle, Killer Frost, and Captain Cold launch nearly simultaneous attacks across the country, and to the League's credit they immediately figure out something's up with that. My guess is that the first iteration of the Secret Society of Super Villains/Injustic League/Legion of Doom/pick your poison has been covertly set up fairly recently in this Universe, which will give Young Justice an organized enemy to fight in addition (or possibly in tamdem) to this mysterious "Light." Me likey so far.

- I...freaking...love...this...Aqualad. The cool delivery from Khary Payton (remarkably distinct from Cyborg from "Teen Titans," though their battle cries and impact grunts are nigh-identical), the badass power set, and the little verbal tics like constantly referring to Aquaman as "my King" (now that should make for some interesting drama once poor Kaldur'ahm learns of his true parentage) all combine for easily the coolest "Aqua-" related character ever to exist outside of the comics (although the OUTRAGEOUS! Aquaman from "Brave and the Bold" comes close).

- Speedy getting the Hell outta dodge after learning what their true reward on their "big day" was definitely had my sympathy (Kid Flash emphasizes this beautifully in the next scene by describing the Watchtower as "a secret HQ...IN SPACE!"). Looks like this both explains why Artemis will end up joining the team instead, and (presumably) fortells the coming of Red Arrow rather earlier than usual in this continuity.

- I like how you guys decided to turn "side-kick" into a dirty word amongst the prospective Young Justice members. Speedy prefers "partner" (which, like his aforementioned storm-out, is perfectly in line with his character), while the others just seem to find the term generally degrading. And I got a real kick (pardon the pun, LOL) out of all the little jokes at the beginning over the characters' anonymity; no one in the general public seems to be able to remember poor Kid Flash's name, with one person in the crowd mistaking him as Speedy and decrying that name going to the archer instead "makes no sense" (now THAT made me laugh).

- The Genomorphs, particularly the "dwarf" psychic ones, had me in chills. As did Mark Desmond (recognized him immediately, mostly by the rather conspicuous "Blockbuster" vials shown in his first scene), sporting a rather twisted version of the voice the same actor used for the Mechanist in "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and using said dwarf Genomorphs to keep Guardian's mind under lock and key. On the other hand, this notion of them achieving sentience as a hive mind - and proclaiming Superboy as their possible savior - has me heavily intrigued.

- Superboy himself is an excellent take on the often cliche-ridden clone concept. He's been taught to hold Superman up as a perfect ideal (sensical, given that he was designed to replace him in role and function), leading to an in-universe dropping of the phrase "What Would Superman Do?" being the catalyst for his change of heart. But now that Superman (who, of course, knows nothing about dealing with kids, as Supergirl is conspicuously absent from this Universe) has tried to dodge the semi-parental responsibility he really should have to him, it looks like the proto-Connor Kent is stuck in permanent teen rebellion mode...up to 11. This is obviously going to lead to some real problems down the line; hopefully, however, not nearly as severe as his Earth-Prime counterpart.

- Tons and tons and tons of mythology gags riddled throughout these two episodes, to the point where I can't even remember half of them. I love it when writers show their work and their research, and you never fail to deliver on both counts. Particular highlights included Superboy's immature powers not including flight and heat vision - in other words, being at the level of the Golden Age Superman, whereas the adult powers of the original Kal-El are at his more well-known Silver Age levels - and Kid Flash's reference to Flash always taking his time at crime scenes to get chummy with everyone, the villain included...which, of course, has always been Barry Allen's trademark to a "T." Though be warned, Wally; if your character development proceeds anything like your mainstream counterpart, you'll eventually end up doing the exact same thing.

- As has been noted many times before and surely will be noted far more times in the future, the voice acting, scoring, and animation quality is absolutely superb throughout. The entirety of both episodes appear to be produced at roughly the same level as the recent DC Animated films, which is just tremendous. Here's hoping that the series remains comparable to the standards set here once in resumes in January.

So I just want to say, on behalf of my fellow DC Comics geeks everywhere, thank you for lending your hand to bringing forth this wonderful addition to our rich animated mythos. I wait with bated breath for the story of these young heroes to truly reach their new beginning next year. So until next time...

"Eventually...everyone sees the light."

>shivers, but in a good way<

Harlequinn writes...

When Miss Martian's shirt morphed to match Superboy's colors, did she do that on purpose? Or did it just happen cause she had a crush?

SLG writes...

Hey Greg,

Really liked the Young Justice pilot, very solid stuff. I especially like the line Robin had about how Batman would "have his head" for taking so long to get out of those shackles. Robin seemed pretty capable, and I'm sure he'll get closer to Batman's level as time goes on, but I do hope we'll get to see the master at work every once in a while.

I also really have to say that I loved the action sequences (and the writing, of course). They had a great flow to them and a great sense of pace. I was also a bit surprised at how hard hitting some of the fights were, by which I mean they seemed to be fairly violent, even compared to something as recent as SpecSpidey, though that's just my take on it.

So anyway, you say that your brother, Jon Weisman, is writing for Young Justice, which got me thinking about how that was also the case during your time on WITCH. Since someone was nice enough to upload the entire series onto YouTube it has been easy enough to go back to. One of my favorites of that show was "S for Self", mainly because of the songs "Demon in Me" and "Will to Love" that played during it, for which you and Jon wrote the lyrics.

So this is a bit out there, but do you suppose that original songs, like those produced for WITCH, are something that would ever have a place in Young Justice?

How about an entire episode in the form of a musical? Buffy style, you know you want to.

Grant writes...

1) Aqualad appears to have a measure of super strength, is he also bullet proof?

2) Is Mount Justice suppose to be Happy Harbor like in the comic?

Clark Cradic writes...

Great job on the premiere! XD I can't wait to see more. Especially Miss Martian!

Ian Whitcombe writes...

Do you think you could post a complete credit list for "Independence Day"?

Logan writes...

thanks for the trailers... looks insane.
this question may seem spoiled and a little greedy/impatient. But, i gotta ask. I remember hearing about a tempest apearence. Would his presence on the show be similar o red arrow's (multiple episodes supporting character) or can we expect to see him in a one shot atlantis aqualad episode?

keep up the great adapting. when i saw the designs and details from NYCC it felt like bruce timm on steroids.

Anonymous writes...

Will Jason Marsden and Will Friedle reprise their roles from Batman: Brave and the Bold onto Young Justice (I understand Speedy has already been taken) or do I have to wait and see?
They did a very perfect job at voicing those lesser known DC characters from that show and they really deserved to voice them again in future DC cartoons and movies.

Jack writes...

Hey Greg, I love your work and I am excited for Young Justice, but I do have a just one small concern.

Looking back at episodes of "Justice League" and “Justice League Unlimited” it's pretty clear to see how writers have diminished the character of Superman by making him ether less superior then the rest of the League or by just turning him into the little “whipping boy” just to show how bad things were getting. Will this trend continue in Young Justice?

I apologize if this question has been answered before; I scrolled through the archives and didn’t see it.

Yoop writes...

YJ: When it comes closer to the January air date, will you give us the upcoming episode Description and titles?

Superboy writes...

I noticed that in some San Diego Comic-Con preview footage, Aqualad had no armpit hair. Does he shave it off? Do other male heroes have it? Excuse mah weird questions o.O

Rawrgle writes...

I saw a little interview on Robin that described him as "prepubescent." Does this mean we'll see him go through it on the show?

Anonymous writes...

I just read that, after issue #6, you and Kevin Hopps will be taking over the writing of the Young Justice comic book series full time. I'm sure you'll do great with the comics, but won't it interfere with your work on future seasons of the cartoon, should you get a pick-up?

Anonymous writes...

Hello, Greg

Ok, two questions in mind:

1. Is Artemis Cissie King? I only ask this because one of the press releases on Toon Zone named her true identity as Cissie King. Also, does Conner take the last name "Smith"?

2. Is the scientist in the Comic-Con video Dr. Mark Desmund? I noticed the "Project: Blockbuster" vials, and Desmund has showed in two of your previous scripts have included him. Not to mention he kinda looks like him.

Michael writes...

In regards to this answer re: Earth-16...

We asked DC for one of their unused 52 Earths, and they assigned us Earth-16 . I wasn't aware at the time that pieces of it had been explored already. So we're ignoring that stuff.

....Wouldn't it have made more sense to check back with DC and change the universe the show is set in to Earth-Something-Else, some number that really hadn't been assigned yet, then to just ignore the previous Earth-16 stuff?

Harlequinn writes...

Young Justice: Okay so, when Artemis' identity is revealed on the show, will it be some big epic reveal to a long mystery of her identity, or will it be something just there like "Oh hey, ______ what's up?"

Albert writes...

Hey, Greg!

I'm very excited about the new Young Justice cartoon. In many respects, I want this Earth-16 universe to be the main DCU because all continuity has been distilled, rebooted, and made fresh. I'm looking forward to the comic book in January as well.

Pleasantries aside, on to brass tacks...

You've mentioned on several interviews and panels that realism has played a crucial role in fleshing out this series. This was evident on your detailed explanation on costumes, the choosing of characters, etc. How about in respect to the timeline of Earth-16? It would not seem "realistic" that the children of characters like the original Icicle and Black Canary would be, by the looks of it, in their mid-20s while their parents had their adventures during WWII in relation to the current timeline, which is 2010. Will there be an adequate explanation for that? Sorry if this seemed too heavy-duty.

Thanks for making questions like these available!

Nell and Francis writes...

Hi! Were really excited about Young Justice! Here are a few questions.

1. You mentioned that Robin was the only member without super powers. So does this mean that Artemis has super powers when Green Arrow doesnt?

2. You chose Wally West and Dick Grayson. In the comic books they are the best of friends. Are they in this series?

3. Is the Young Justice Premiere going to air in Europe the same time as USA? I live in Europe...

4. Do each Young Justice team member know each others identities?

5. What is the title of the two part premiere episode?

THANKS!!!

Ashton writes...

Hey Greg,

1. Is Zatanna going to be a teen or an adult in Young Justice? If you can't say because it would give something away. I dont want to know.

2. Are they all located in different places? Such as Robin in Gotham, Aqualad in Atlantis, Kid Flash in Star City etc.

3. Now you probably can't answer. But I'll ask it just in case, Can Aqualad survive on land for long periods of time without needing water?

4. Were there any villians you couldn't use in Young Justice?

5. How many episodes have guys completed so far?

Thanks for taking the time out to answer my questions.

Ashton writes...

1. Were you amazed by any of your voice actors for Young Justice? Because I read somewhere online that you were pretty impressed with Khary Payton and Jesse McCartney's voice.

2. I noticed in various footage and images of Young Justice that Kid Flash had the original spandex outfit when fighting Captain Cold with his mentor, But in another image he had shoulder pads and protective gear. Does Kid Flash end making changes to his outfit later on in the series?

3. I know you probably won't or can't answer this but I just have to ask, Can Kaldur'ahm manipulate water without using those swords? I just called them swords because I don't know what to call them.

4. Does Aqualad have a home of his own? You don't have to spoil it by saying names, Since his father's a villian, but if you can't say I'm okay with that.

5. Will you reveal who the Artemis character is before the show officially starts in January 2011 or will we have to wait to til then?

8. Does any of the team members know Aqualad or Artemis's secret identities?

7. Is Aqualad best friends with somebody on the team or is he more of a loner? Such as Robin and Kid Flash's best friend relationship.

8. I wish you, Brandon Vietti, Phil Bourassa and everyone working on Young Justice a Happy Thanksgiving, and Us fan's appreciate what hard work you guys put into your projects.

Anonymous writes...

In Young Justice, are we going to see police and some villians use real guns like in Batman: Brave and the Bold?

If yes, do you actually take your time and effort to draw them in great detail similar to the ones from Batman: Gotham Knight?

Kaz writes...

Hey, Greg love your work and I was wondering if you could spell Aqualad's name which I believe is suppose to be Atlantean.

Logan writes...

know when we'll get a trailer? will we finally see some commercials airing on cartoon network now that we're less than a month away from the airing of the pilot?

Cory writes...

Hi Greg. I'm happy to hear you found a project after Spectacular Spider-Man (excellent show), and I'm even happier to learn it's DC. Two questions, though I understand if you can't answer them:

1.) Do you know whether you guys are locked into the same "65 and done" episode format that action cartoons have dealt with since the early 90's, or are you just focusing on this first season right now?

I ask because I believe this has the potential to be people's gateway into the DCU--but it would suck if the series were canceled after just over two seasons.

2.) I notice there are a lot of references about Young Justice trying to include as much of the DCU as possible. Plus I noticed DC even gave you guys an Earth (yay...they get some use now). I can't help wondering...is this by any chance the start of a new DC animated universe? Or is Young Justice just set in E16 and that's it?

Again, I understand if you choose not to answer these questions because they would give away something or you just don't know the answer to them. Thanks for your time.

Sage writes...

Okay, I'm fairly certain I've gotten all of my nerd rage about Young Justice out of my system, so I'll actually be more hyped to watch YJ than I was to watch Avengers, and I'm fairly certain it'll be great. Still, two questions are bugging me. Just a bit:

1.) I keep hearing that this is a "young DC Universe", but the proof of that is always that Clark Kent only became Superman ten years ago, and Bruce became Batman nine years ago. Doesn't that place this universe as fairly "old", since that would put the both of them near their 30's? This is probably kind of difficult to answer, I'm just curious as to how your timeline works--"New Earth" Superman and Batman are pretty much perpetually 35, but I'm guessing your Superman and Batman (and DCU) won't have that problem?

2.) Does it bug you at all that your premiere is next month, but the actual series doesn't start for (at best) two months? I was kinda happy the show was premiering on my birthday, but it bummed me out when I learned we wouldn't see anymore until 2011.

Javier writes...

Hi Greg, first of all i want to say that Spectacular Spiderman was the best incarnation of the character i have seen outside of the comic books, and its a shame that it lasted only two seasons. i have a couple of questions if you dont mind, hopefully you will be able to answer them, if not i understand, you are a very busy man after all.

1) I was really amazed by the quality of the animation and the character designs, it looks even better than the other DC movies that i have seen. How do you maintain that standard of quality in a weekly series? All tha animation is done in the US?

2) Is Josh Keaton voicing Barry Allen? It sounded like him but maybe im wrong, he did an outstanding job as Peter Parker, hopefully he will have a role in the series

Thank you for your time, as a fellow animator im really glad that we can still have some classic 2D animation to look foward to, Best of luck Mr Weisman

Gold writes...

How does magic work in the Young Justice cartoon? Is it similar to how it worked in Gargoyles?

Red writes...

You and Brandon Vietti have said a couple times at conventions that since Miss. Martian is 16 Martian years old that means she is about 48 years old in Earth years (or older). Now, is this really her Earth age that will be used in the show or is this just you guys describing her age as generally being much older than the other kids because of the Martian time difference?

If the former, using the real year difference of Mars and Earth, she would have to be 25 Martian years old in order to be 48 in Earth years and the real equivalent of 16 Martian years is about 30 Earth years. Unless for some reason the Mars in this universe is slightly farther away than our Mars.

Everything on the show so far seems so well thought out, I want to believe you guys didn't over look a seemingly important detail like this.

Clark Cradic writes...

Did you like the original Legion of Doom?

Anonymous writes...

Is there any recurring voice talents from Batman: The Brave and the Bold on Young Justice, or is it too early to confirm it?

Tako writes...

I understand that the Yong Justice show is using Earth-16 of the DC Universe, and I'm fine with that. However, there are a few inconsistencies. Earth-16 was previously stated to be the Home of the "Super-Sons" storyline, and the home of Earth-16's Superman, Chris Kent, who appeared in Countdown: Arena as a monk-like Superman.
Could you play clarify or explain the inconsistencies and contradictions, please?

Bill writes...

Hey Greg. Big fan of your work. Super-excite about the upcoming JOUNG JUSTICE series. I also run the titanstower.com site so I hope some of my info has been useful in researching characters. I recently attended your panel at the NYCC and had a few (hopefully non-spoilery) questions.

1-- You and Brandon referred to Aqualad by his civilian/given name, which sounded like "Calderon" or "Calder" for short. Is that the correct spelling? Can you clarify his name?

2-- You mentioned a desire to use Captain Atom. Have you considered a story around Bombshell from the Teen Titans? She's connected to Captain Atom by power source and through some government ties.

3-- You mentioned pulling from different eras of YOUNG JUSTICE and TEEN TITANS of the 60s, 70s and the NEW TEEN TITANS of the 80s. Is this more in just building the characters? Or do you plan to adapt some of the comic stories into animated form (for example, as the TT series adapted "Judas Contract")?

thanks Greg!

Becca writes...

Sorry to bother you, I know you're busy. As much as people are excited abou the ny comic con clip, I don't think it's right that someone so obvously sneaked it up on YouTube illegally. I haven't watched it, and I only know its up because of a forum I go on. Again, sorry to bug you, but I just thought you should know it was leaked.
Sincerely, Becca

Andres writes...

I loved Teen Titans is the Robin characterized in Teen Titans different or in the same vein in Young Justice? Does it follow closely the Young Justice version? Im guessing the fact that Batman plays a larger role in Young Justice than in Teen Titans that Robin is develop differently?